Gas grills have existed for many years. Today's gas grills typically include a lower tub mounted upon legs or a pedestal, and a hood adapted to mate with the top of the tub. The grill also includes a food grate mounted to the top of the tub and a gas burner mounted with the tub and below a food grate.
In use, the heat emitted from the ignited gas burner heats food placed upon the grate. This heat however also heats the side walls of the tub to very high temperatures. These heated side walls pose a fire hazard should the tub walls be positioned too close to a flammable material and a safety hazard to humans, especially small children which may not realize that the grill becomes very hot during use. For these reasons some grills have been designed which incorporate means to insulate or shield the exterior walls of the tub.
One manner of insulating the exterior wall of a grill has been the construction of a tub having an inner wall spaced from an outer wall. This type of grill is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,424,145, 4,813,398 and 5,406,930. However, as these grills are typically made of a metal which may still reach high temperatures, especially since metal brackets are often used to couple the inner and outer walls. These metal brackets bridge and therefore conduct heat from the inner wall to the outer wall.
Grills have also been designed having fiberglass or vermiculite liners which insulate the tub, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,286,620, 4,582,041, 4,813,397 and 5,024,208. While these material may provide an adequate insulation of the tub they also prevent heat from being absorbed by the grill which may be utilized should food be returned to the grill for further cooking. In other words, these grills quickly cool requiring the re-ignition of the gas burner should heat to be required to complete the cooking of food previously removed from the grill.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a grill which is designed to restrict the exterior surface from reaching a dangerously high temperature but which retains enough heat for a sufficient period in the event additional cooking is necessary once the grill has been turned off. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.